Sony’s PS4 Rollout Prioritizes U.S. Market

Sony Corp.plans to launch the next PlayStation 4 in North America on Nov. 15–likely marking the first time that Sony will sell the console in the U.S. market first, ahead of Japan. It is a departure from tradition and a subtle sign of shifting priorities for the Japanese company.

Historically, Sony has introduced its PlayStation hardware in Japan before rolling out the game system to other markets. This was born from convenience and practicality, because the company used to build its PlayStation consoles in Japan and Japanese consumers strongly supported Sony’s videogame offerings.

The PlayStation 4 was on display during the E3 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles in June.

Bloomberg News

Now, most of its production is done by contract manufacturers in China and Japanese consumers make up a smaller portion of its customer base.

Sony said it will announce the launch timing of the PS4 in Japan at a Sept. 9 news conference. Sony declined to say when the launch date would be, but the expectation is that Japan will not be first this time around.

With the PS4, Sony said it is pushing aggressively to reach U.S. and Canadian consumers first by making sure to stock the shelves with its new game machine ahead of Black Friday on Nov. 29, a peak shopping day after Thanksgiving in the U.S. Sony said the PS4 will be available in European markets on Nov. 29.

Even the February event where Sony unveiled the PlayStation 4 was held in New York – outside of Japan for the first time. Historically, Sony has announced new PlayStation products at press events in Tokyo near its headquarters.

Sony’s decision may be colored by the declining influence of the Japanese market on overall PlayStation sales. With the original PlayStation, 18.6% of its global sales came from Japan. Its successor, the PlayStation 2, tallied 14.7% of its sales from Japan, while Sony’s home market made up 11.9% of PS3 sales, according to data from VGChartz Network. By comparison, North America had made up about one-third of all PlayStation sales.

Another factor may be Sony Chief Executive Kazuo Hirai’s experience working for the PlayStation business in the U.S. for a decade. During his time, he got a front-row view of how success in the U.S. market can help to influence sales around the world.